


Annex 2: Family Ties

by Legume_Shadow



Series: Echoes: A Peacemaker Kurogane/Rurouni Kenshin Crossover [9]
Category: Peacemaker Kurogane, Rurouni Kenshin
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Author Loves Writing the Meiji Revolution, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-07
Updated: 2012-06-07
Packaged: 2017-12-28 06:33:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/988853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Legume_Shadow/pseuds/Legume_Shadow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the vice-commander of the Oniwabanshuu pays a visit to those shinobi serving in the Shinsengumi, it is not a house-call taken lightly, and she brings with her, an assignment that only Susumu can undertake.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Annex 2: Family Ties

**Author's Note:**

> First Publishing: June 2012. All copyrights apply to the appropriate parties and no profit is being made from this fanwork.

**Annex 2: Family Ties**

_Year: Spring 1866_

 

Everywhere the woman walked, people turned their heads to get a second glance at her, but it was not because of her beauty that attracted them to her, for she was quite a plain-looking woman, but it was her confidence. She carried herself with poise, walking with her head held high and even gait that most people thought she was nobility, except for the fact that she was _walking_ …on a dusty road…instead of being carried to and from her destination in a litter. It also did not help that she was unusually tall for a Japanese woman.

The guards outside of the Shinsengumi headquarters stood alert as she approached them, but with a small smile, she handed a small folded letter for them to read. “Please inform Kondou- _kyokuchou_ and Hijikata- _fukuchou_ that I would like to meet with them,” she said.

“Yes, ma’am,” one of the guards stuttered before her letter was handed back to her and the guard scurried off.

She entered the compound with no further delays and looked around as she walked the length of the enormous courtyard. In the distance, she could hear the shouts of those in the training hall, practicing, but there were not a lot of people around, at least not near the entrance. Moments later, she saw both the commander and vice-commander emerge from the front most building, trailed by someone she was not familiar with. But no matter, for she knew that she would be introduced to this new person soon enough and would be able to judge his character in the next few minutes.

“Ah, welcome, Lady...?” Kondou began, faltering a bit as she gave him a dazzling smile that disarmed him of his words.

“Machimaki, Kondou- _kyoukuchou_ ,” she answered. “I come on behalf of one who serves in the direct service to our Shogun.”

“Ah, Machimaki-dono,” Kondou said, smiling a bit sheepishly. “Please allow me to introduce to you, Hijikata Toshizou- _fukuchou_ and Itou Kashitarou- _sanbou_.”

The other two bowed slightly as she she handed Kondou the same letter that she had handed to the guards earlier and watched the reactions of both him, Hijikata, and the other unknown man. She knew that Kondou had heard of her family name before, but would he know exactly what her family name entailed? It was the truth that she had stated to them: the Machimaki family did serve the Shogun directly, but it was not what most would assume to be. She watched as Kondou passed the letter over to Hijikata who read over it and then with what she could perceive as a slight, almost unnoticeable hesitation, pass the letter over to Itou. She found that strange and filed it away for later contemplation.

When the three were done reading the letter, which contained only the bare basics that would not reveal anything of her reason why she was here and was mainly only a voucher letter from the head of her family, she was handed back the letter and placed it within her kimono. The three of them were good at hiding their emotions and thoughts from their faces, but she was better at reading subtleties. Kondou was clearly impressed and had a shadow of a remembrance as to who exactly her family was. Hijikata clearly had a good idea as to who she might be – as she expected from his reputation as a genius strategist. Itou was confused, but politely bored-looking, though she could read that he clearly had other schemes in his mind already forming that had nothing to do with her arrival, though she was willing to bet that if she lingered in Kyoto for a long time, he would try to incorporate her and her influence into his schemes. She would have to watch out for that, even though she had no plans to stay in Kyoto for more than a couple of days.

“If you would follow us, Machimaki-dono, we can hold our discussions in a quieter setting,” Kondou kindly said. “It is rare that we receive such a beautiful woman such as you, my lady, and it would be an honor for us to help solve anything that troubles you.”

_My, my, he does have a touch for flattery_ , she thought to himself as she merely smiled and allowed herself to be escorted further into the compound. However, she couldn't help but overhear Itou say to Hijikata, “Hijikata-dono, would you like me to summon your page and have him bring tea and snacks for us?”

She clearly saw the brief flash of surprise on the vice-commander's face and wondered at the strangeness of it. Normally, she would have thought that a vice-commander would have expected someone lesser in rank, especially just a military adviser such as Itou to suggest something like that with no problems, but clearly, this was strangely different. The vice-commander nodded, and she heard Itou politely excuse himself, saying that he would be back within a moment.

_The political dynamics here are far more interesting than Edo_...

* * *

The sounds of blades being scraped over sharpening stones seemed like a song that did not end until one was sure it was ready to end. Oddly enough, Susumu found some comfort in the song whenever he played it for it gave him control over a small part of his life that was spent in the service of others. The short blade that he was currently sharpening didn't need more that a few rubs on the stone, but he wanted to make sure that it was absolutely sharp and would not get caught between bone and flesh on at least his first kill next time.

He had been initially mortified for the few seconds he had spent trying to yank out his blade out of the dead rebel during one of the random nights of clashes after the reappearance by the Hitokiri Battousai. Fortunately, no other person had been near him, so his embarrassment had only been concealed within himself. Still...

“Hm, I should've told Aoshi before he left to bring a sickle sanding stone back. Didn't realize that the one I had is getting a little too flat,” Susumu heard Kai mutter to himself.

“Here,” Aya said, as Susumu glanced up to see her place a second stone on top of the one that Kai was currently using. “Its not pretty, but it might work.”

“Kai, Aya, and Susumu,” an eerily familiar voice, and one that he thought he would not hear again, at least not for a while, say.

Almost as one, they raised their heads towards the voice and immediately stiffened and bowed their heads. _“_ Kondou- _kyoukuchou_ , Machimaki- _fukuchou,”_ they said at the same time.

“Ah,” Susumu heard the second-in-command of the entire Oniwabanshuu, both the Tokyo and Kyoto branches, say in delight, “please don't be so formal. We are not currently at home.”

With a quick glance towards each other, the three of them complied with their vice-commander's orders and stood, though they were still in a semi-state of attentiveness. It would not do for any of their reputations or the Oniwabanshuu's reputation to be distracted or show disrespect to one as shrewd and as talented as the vice-commander. Susumu could not help but inwardly shiver to himself. Machimaki Haruka, the daughter of the current _Okashira_ of the Oniwabanshuu, was a drab and ordinary-looking woman, but what she lacked in looks, she made up in skills, especially her mastery of several methods in the ninjitsu arts. One could argue that the hierarchy was a nepotism when it came to appointing the daughter of the _Okashira_ as the vice-commander, but all of those within the Oniwabanshuu knew that it was not so. Machimaki Haruka was _that_ good in the arts. In addition to her skills, she did something that most in the trade seldom do; she had saved countless of other shinobi lives even before she was given the position. No one doubted her abilities to command when the _Okashira_ was not present. For her to be in Kyoto told Susumu that something serious and possibly secretive to the extreme that it could not be sent by hawk was about to be undertaken.

“Thank you, Kondou- _kyoukuchou_ , for giving me a tour of your compound. It has given me great pleasure to see that our _Okashira_ 's shinobi are working with such talented, vigilant, and loyal members to the Shogun and the Emperor.”

Kondou gave a hearty, boisterous laugh before saying, “I thank you, Machimaki-dono, for allowing me to show you around. I shall leave you then with your people.”

Susumu watched as she gave a graceful nod of her head towards Kondou who merely beamed and turned slightly pink before leaving. As soon as the Shinsengumi commander was out of hearing range, their vice-commander said, “It is good to see all of you again. I trust that the Shinsengumi have been accommodating and that all is well?”

“Yes, ma'am,” they replied at nearly the same time.

“Good,” she said, nodding. “I would like to speak to each of you individually later, but for now, I would like to speak to Susumu alone, please. If you would please ensure that no one intrudes, I would be grateful for your help.”

Despite the congenial tone that the vice-commander had in her voice, he couldn't help but feel a bit apprehensive as he saw Aya and Kai give a nod before leaving. When she beckoned him closer, he closed the distance, and waited as she searched him up and down with a hawkish look in her eyes. Despite the dark, spring-time yukata he wore as his daily outfit when he was not on patrol, he felt naked under her critical gaze. She was most definitely evaluating him for something, but for what?

“Still as rakishly handsome as ever,” he heard her mutter, and wondered what had caused that comment. In a more audible voice, but still lowered so that no one but he could hear, he heard her say, “It is late, but I bring my and our _Okashira_ 's condolences to you on the loss of your sister. Her service to the Oniwabanshuu and to both the Shogun and the Emperor will never be forgotten by us.”

“Thank you,” he quietly replied, feeling a small tear in the emotional wound that he had been stitching up since that fateful day.

“I mean not to hurt you, Susumu,” she said with an apologetic look in her eyes. “There is an opportunity that is open, if you want to take it and it has to do with the initial investigation that the _Okashira_ had sent Kai, Aoshi, and Aya down for.”

“I would like to help,” he stated after a moment. Though he had initially rebelled against the investigation that his friends were doing – to find out the person or persons who had given up Ayumu's identity and how they got it so easily, now, almost two years after her death, his grief had turned into determination into finding out who had done it. Currently, the investigation had slowed down to a crawl and leads that had been fresh had turned into dead ends. The fact that the vice-commander had personally come down and told him of an opportunity sparked a renewed sense of hope in him. It also told him that whatever the opportunity was, was dangerous or secretive that no one else knew and that the vice-commander's visit was not just for show and to see how the Kyoto Oniwabanshuu and the Shinsengumi's Oniwabanshuu members were doing.

“The target is a woman, Lady Keiko, working at the Lilypad Lake in Shimabara. She has, in her possession, a paper with the symbol of a five-leafed maple where a wax seal is supposed to be used. As far as I know, she only has one, but there might be others. I need you to retrieve that paper and if there are any others on her possession, those too. Know that they contain information that may potentially solve the mystery behind your sister's identity exposure.”

“Do you have any specific criteria on how you want me to seduce her?” he bluntly asked, knowing that it was his only option to successfully complete the mission.

“Seduce her by any means necessary,” she stated. “I will be waiting by the irrigation channel running near the north entrance into Gion when you're finished.”

He nodded as he made a mental checklist of what he needed to do before starting the mission. He was unleashed from any specific constraints with the statement by the vice-commander to complete his mission, which told him that the vice-commander was not sure whether or not the paper was on the woman or in the woman's bedroom. It also meant that he had to be prepared and take a sedative and memory fogger with him so that if things got out of hand, the woman would not remember anything.

“Then I hope to see you before the hour of the ox tonight,” he said.

* * *

_A few hours later..._

 

Despite the relative warmth in the room, Susumu could not help but shiver slightly as he gently caught the woman before she could fully hit the floor from the effects of the sedative and memory fogger he had placed in her drink earlier in the night. He adjusted his grip on her and hefted her up slightly, carrying her to the futon on the other side of the room and placed her on it. Going back for the light yukata undergarment that she had discarded into a puddle of cloth on the tatami, along with the prettier outer layer of clothes she had been wearing earlier in the night, he brought it over. He quickly wrapped her naked body around it before tucking her under the covers of the futon.

It was only then did he go back and gather his own clothes that had been discarded piece by piece during his seduction of the woman and her response to that seduction. Quickly dressing himself, he then quietly crept to the small desk that was in the woman's room. Careful not to make too much noise, though not for the woman's sake, but for those who may have been listening in, he opened up the small drawers and scanned the contents inside.

_There_! He pulled out a small piece of folded paper that had the unique symbol that Vice-Commander Machimaki had identified to him. He didn't take a look at the contents and pocketed it, for all he was here for was the retrieve the paper. He had confidence that the vice-commander would put the information to good use and it was better for him not to know the contents, lest he get caught now. Checking through all other scraps of paper, he did not find anymore bearing the symbol and closed the drawers, carefully leaving the desk the way it had been before he had rifled through it.

Glancing around to make sure he did not leave anything behind, and to also make sure that he did not miss anything, he quietly made his way over to the window in the room and pushed it open. It would be a tight squeeze for him in the clothes he wore, but it was the only way out for him without bumping into the matron of this Shimabara pleasure house. The woman he had seduced to gain access to her room was a favored one of the matron, and thus charged quite a lot for her sexual services...needless to say, Susumu had not paid that price.

He managed to get out and hang onto the ledge of the roof without making too much noise before gently closing the window with a hand and hauled himself up onto the rooftop. He laid there for a second, catching his breath before getting up and made his way from rooftop to rooftop until he got to the rendezvous destination. Jumping down into an empty alley, he made sure to brush himself clean before poking his head out and saw the person he was expecting, standing near a fully-blossomed sakura tree by the irrigation stream that ran through this part of Kyoto.

“ _Fukuchou_ ,” he whispered as he approached and saw the vice-commander of the Oniwabanshuu turn from where she was standing, her nighttime parasol glittering slightly in the half-moon.

“Walk with me, Susumu,” she said, and he obeyed. To any others out at this time of night, it would look like he was walking with his lady-friend, but as they continued on the road next to the irrigation channel, he discreetly passed to her the folded paper he had found.

“The scent of lavender is all over your clothes,” she suddenly said after a few minutes of them walking silently. “If you want, there is a change of spare clothing waiting for you at the Aoiya before you return to the Shinsengumi.”

“Thank you, _fukuchou_ ,” he quietly said, grateful for the opportunity to change clothing before he return to the Shinsengumi headquarters. Though he had not bed the Shimabara woman, the fact that he had gotten so close to doing it made him feel uncomfortable, and he could not figure out why. While it was more common for kunoichi to undertake seduction assignments, it was as the vice-commander had said earlier in the day – he had the looks for it – and he had undertaken the assignments before, though previous assignments had not gone as far as it had did this time. Perhaps it was the fact that he almost had to bed that woman before the sedative kicked in that made him uncomfortable. Perhaps.

They arrived at the Aoiya without any further words between each other and Susumu was directed to a room where he found the set of spare clothing laid out. He quickly changed and headed back down the stairs to make his way out and back to the Shinsengumi headquarters. At the foot of the stairs, he saw the vice-commander pick up her daughter, little Misao, who was squirming a bit and instead of gleefully hugging her mother, was reaching out towards Aoshi who looked a bit embarrassed. He could not help but grin at the sight.

“ _Fukuchou_ ,” he said on impulse, catching the attention of the three. “I will be taking over Aya's patrol shift tonight.”

There was no need to say it, but he could see the grateful nod that their vice-commander gave him. It was the least he could do for the opportunity that the vice-commander had given to him to find some closure into his sister's death. It would also give him time to sort out his own feelings to this particular mission.

* * *

_Later that night…_

 

“So tell me, Aya-chan,” Haruka teasingly said, laughing a bit as Aya frowned at the cute honorific tacked onto her name. “You’ve been living with them for this long and no one has touched you or you to any of them?”

“I keep my distance, neesan,” she stiffly answered, crossing her arms over her chest. “They keep theirs.”

“If you at least returned that handsome Eight Unit Captain’s affections, perhaps you would be safer and happier.”

“I am content, Haruka,” she answered, drawing her legs up to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. The boisterous sounds of the Aoiya at night could not be drowned out with the wind on the rooftops, but somehow, she found it comforting to hear such noise. “Your concern is touching, but I do not intend to reciprocate Toudou- _kumichou_ ’s affections.” In a quieter tone, she said, “To return or display any affection would cause complications in which I wish not to engage in. I am shinobi; I am not of their societal rank.”

“So there _is_ someone, is there not, Aya?” Haruka said after a moment. “If not Toudou- _kumichou_ , then who?”

Silence answered Haruka’s question, but it was broken after a few minutes when Aya asked, “How is your husband, neesan?”

She heard the quick intake of her sister’s breath and glanced over to see grief painted all over her sister’s expression, which alarmed her. However, before she could say anything else, her sister whispered, “He died about two months ago, from complications related to tuberculosis.”

“Haruka…” she began but could not continue her thought as she scooted over and threw her arms around her sister, pulling her close. “I’m so sorry for your loss,” she whispered after a few moments of just holding her sister.

“Aya, there’s something I also need to tell you,” her sister said, pushing her slightly away so that there was a distinct gap between them. She wondered what it was and why her sister did not want her close to help ease her pain and give her comfort as family would do in such times. There were tears in her sister’s eyes, but there was also resolve that seemed odd at a time like this. “I also have the disease.”

“What?” she uttered in disbelief, staring at her. “Did you deliberately contract it from your husband?”

Haruka shook her head slowly in the negative fashion. “No. Both he and I contracted it roughly around the same time. It was when the assassination attempt on our _Okashira_ happened. The poison that had been intended to be used on our _Okashira_ had been inhaled by both of us when we responded to the attempt – at least that is how my husband, along with our _Okashira,_ and I had deduced it to be. Our _Okashira_ has been checked at least twice a year by Takani-sensei and to this date, he has not shown any signs of contracting the disease.”

“But I and others responded to that attempt…yet I do not feel anything or have any symptoms,” Aya said, horrified yet feeling incredibly saddened.

“We found out that the poison was foreign-imported and dispersed quickly. It was meant to so that no suspected foul play was supposed to be witnessed when the _Okashira_ was supposed to have died from the disease,” her sister explained.

“How…how long do you have, neesan?” she whispered after a few moments of silence. “Have you coughed up blood yet? What about Misao-chan?”

“I do not know how many months or years I have left, Aya,” she sadly replied. “However, Misao has been well shielded and taken care of. Takani-sensei has also been keeping an eye on her. All I ask of you, Aya, is that once I pass from this world, please take care of my daughter.”

“I will neesan.”

 

~*~*~*~


End file.
